Masquerade Ball
by Lady Avotil
Summary: One of my OC's, Anna Balanescu, goes to a ball where she meets the mysterious and captivating Count Alucard, who is in reality Count Dracula. What will happen? C.V.D./OC Oneshot.


_**N.B.:**_ Alright, so here is something for you to read until I post the next chap of my story "The beginning of a new World". This is my first try at a sort of romantic story and it is a oneshot. Enjoy!^_^

_**Masquerade Ball**_

It was a pleasant October evening – not warm, but not too cold either. Actually, it was perfect for this time of year. It was a Saturday and not just any October day. No, it was the 31st October – All Hallows eve. Or its more popular name – Halloween. The night on which according to Celtic legend the ghosts of the people that had died during the year would rise up and haunt their relatives, as well as the homes where they once lived. However, that was in the past. Nowadays children dress up in scary costumes and go from door to door, asking for treats.

Tonight our school hosts a masquerade ball. Yes, a ball. Something like this is rarely seen in modern times and even less so at schools. But this is all just to keep up traditions and in Romania, my home country, holding a ball on this day is a custom that goes as far back as the XV century. In fact, if I remember our history lessons correctly, this tradition started in the early XV century at a beautiful summer palace, where the Wallachian ruler, Vlad III, held the first ever All Hallows eve ball.

Only the 12th grade students in our school are allowed to attend the ball and I am so happy that I can now finally go. These past few weeks were a bit stressful for me, because I had to find a nice dress and also a matching mask. I finally found them and now, after 3 hours of work on my hair, I am standing at the entrance of the school sports gymnasium. I wonder what it will look like inside? The school always closes a week before the ball in order to make preparations for it and decorate the gym and then it also stays closed the week after the ball to get everything back to normal. Now, I can finally see what the teachers always do during that one week. After all, decorating a gym couldn't take more than 1 day.

I took a deep breath and slowly opened the doors. The moment I entered the room, I was stunned and couldn't help but stare in awe at the décor. It was so beautiful! If I hadn't known my school so well and that the gym was this same room, I would have thought that I had entered a majestic ballroom.

This place didn't even resemble the gym I knew. The stands were gone and even the entire floor had been remade and looked like it was meant to be danced on. Along the left and right wall there were two long tables upon which there were a wide variety of foods and drinks and at the far end of the hall there was even an entire orchestra! The rest of the hall was mostly filled with people dancing or talking to each other.

I was so entranced by the beauty of it all, that I barely noticed someone lightly tap my shoulder. I turned around and for a second time that day I could barely hold back my gasp. In front of me stood the most handsome young man I had ever seen. Come to think of it, I hadn't actually seen him in school before at all. He was only a few centimeters taller than me and his ball costume consisted of a black military jacket, black pants and black boots and on top of them a golden cape lined with black. His hair was jet-black. He had a golden mask that covered the upper-half of his face and despite that I couldn't help but think that he was very handsome. His midnight blue eyes looked at me as if waiting for an answer. I quickly realized that he must have asked me a question that I had, somehow, managed to not hear.

"Good evening"

"Good evening," His voice had a slight accent to it, but that only added to its ensnaring effect and the way it made me smile.

"Could you repeat you question? I didn't hear it because I was admiring the decorations." I said, making him smile the most beautiful smile I had ever seen. I was absolutely charmed by him, there was no doubt.

"Can I have this dance?" he asked, looking me in the eye. That single look made my legs almost give out beneath me. I was too taken by him to answer verbally so I just nodded and laid my hand in his. He gently took it and guided me to the very front of the hall, right before the orchestra. The orchestra started playing another piece of music just then. It was strangely sad, but also a bit eerie and the voice of the woman singing gave it a beautiful tone. It was actually quite fitting the event.

In 11th grade we were given dancing lessons and we were taught the steps to some of the old, but also a few modern dancing styles. The orchestra was playing one of the songs to which one of the old dances fit perfectly. We both bowed slightly, as the beginning of the dance required, and then we started dancing, turning and twirling around the temporary ballroom. I felt as if I was flying the entire time and when the song finished we stopped and applauded the orchestra. The handsome man took my hand again and led me to one of the empty tables situated near the entrance of the gym. We sat down and then, after several minutes of silence, I spoke to him.

"You are a very good dancer. I don't believe we have met before. I am Anna Balanescu. What's your name?" I asked, remembering that we hadn't introduced each other yet.

"Thank you. You are a good dancer as well. Anna. That's a pretty name for a beautiful woman such as you. I am Count Vladislaus Alucard and I am the benefactor of this ball." He said, an amused smile gracing his features as this time I actually gasped. I had been dancing with the benefactor of this ball! And he is a count no less! I felt the familiar sensation of my ears getting warmer, meaning that I was blushing and if I know myself at all, which I do, I am red as a tomato right now. This is so embarrassing! I quickly looked away, hoping that the Count didn't see my face.

Since I was looking at anywhere but him, I didn't see him and was absolutely surprised when I felt a cold hand touch my cheek. I slowly looked at the hand and then at the arm and then at him. Oh my God! He had just touched my cheek! That's when I noticed that he had taken his mask off and that he had a slightly pale complexion. But that was not the important thing, no. The important thing was that I had seen his face and, yet again, I was absolutely speechless. Yup, definitely the most handsome man I had ever met. He looked at me and there was that amused smile again!

"You know, you are very cute when you blush like that" he said, looking even more amused as I knew that I had inevitably gotten even redder. I swear, my cheeks managed to actually make a tomato feel ashamed.

"Well…It's…Umm…Uh…I mean…" Yup, here I go again with my stuttering. This always happens when I speak to someone nice or handsome. Oh no…After the blubbering phase follows the….

"Well, you see, I didn't know hat you were the benefactor or that we even had a benefactor or that you were a count and I thought when I saw you that you were just someone from school that I didn't know and then when we danced you danced so perfectly and I thought that you were taught at school last year, just like me, since it's only the teachers and 12th grade students that attend the ball and since you definitely were no teacher I thought you were a student and I just didn't think that you were who you turned out to be" I said in one quick sentence and then I took a deep breath.

The chipmunk mode! Oh great, now he thinks I'm an idiot. Wait, why would I even care what he thought about me? I don't know, it's not like I like him or anything like that. He is, after all, the benefactor of the ball and a count as well. I can't like him. Yes, I definitely do not like him….I absolutely adore him! Oh, why does this always happen to me? I barely even know the guy and now I'm practically ready to give anything to be with him. Oh boy, maybe I shouldn't have come to the ball after all…

"And your chipmunk mode, is also very cute" he said, smiling at me.

I was absolutely taken aback. The chipmunk mode? Cute? No way, never. I always thought that it was annoying and some people even told me that it was annoying. Now the Count says that it is cute! Wait a moment…How did he know I called it chipmunk mode? Oh well, I must have let it slip whilst I was blabbering on and on…

I had, again, failed to notice that he wasn't touching my cheek anymore and oddly enough I felt a bit sad about that. I looked at him again and now that I had some background information on him I could somewhat see the aristocratic traits in his face and then I saw something gleam on his left hand that had escaped my notice before. It was a ring. A gold ring with a family crest on it. Or at least I thought it was a family crest. Apparently he noticed my curiosity towards his ring.

"Would you like to see the ring up close?" he asked me, moving his right thumb and index finger into a position that showed that he wouldn't mind taking it off. I slowly nodded, not knowing what I should say. He took off the accessory and laid it on the table from where I carefully picked it up, as if it could brake at the slightest pressure. Now I could clearly see the family crest and I thought that it looked a bit familiar. I was absolutely certain that I had seen it somewhere before, but I couldn't recall where. I carefully placed it back on the table again and the Count put the ring back on.

"You have become rather silent. Why?" he inquired, a curious and, dare I say it, concerned look in his midnight blue eyes.

"Well, I just don't know what to say, Count." I quietly said, thinking he wouldn't hear me, but I was mistaken once again when he laughed and oh, his laugh was so beautiful. This man was difficult to read.

"Please, Anna, call me Vlad. Such a lovely person as you should be able to relax in my presence and be able to do and say what they want. Alright?"

True to his word, I relaxed and soon after we were actively discussing the ball, the school and then, surprisingly, history. Especially the history of the XV century. He seemed to know a lot about it and that was my favorite time period. I first became interested in it when I read Bram Stoker's "Dracula". Count Dracula was truly a mysterious figure. Just like Count Alucard, now that I think of it. The more I thought about it, the more I saw some little resemblances between him and Bram Stoker's fictional character. Of course, the inevitable question came.

"Why are you so interested in specifically this time period?" he asked, curiosity written all over his face. I smiled at him.

"Mainly because I read a book written by Bram Stoker called "Dracula". Have you ever read it?" I saw him tense slightly at the mention of Dracula and if he thought that it hadn't been obvious, he was sorely mistaken. I noticed it and before he could even respond I looked sharply at him with my obsidian green eyes.

"Why did you tense when I mentioned Dracula, Vlad? It's only a book. Well, and a movie, but I can't honestly tell which one is better…or worse"

The Count looked at me with wonder and awe in his eyes, amazed by something that I cannot say. What special did I just do? I just observed something and accordingly asked him a question based on my observation. What's so special about that? However, that aside, I didn't expect what he said next.

"Do you believe in ghost stories, Anna?"

What type of question was that? Alright, I do believe in some ghost stories, but that's only because of my older brother. He used to scare me when I was little. That is a "trauma" that I cannot easily forget.

"Um, this might sound silly, but I believe in a few. Why do you ask?" They say that curiosity killed the cat. I guess that, in those terms, curiosity was always my greatest weakness.

"Do you believe in werewolves? In vampires?" he continued his strange row of questions. What did those have to do with MY question?

"Werewolves - a tiny bit. Vampires – definitely"

Yes, I believed in those ethereal beings that knew so much and lived and stayed young forever. Them, who knew so much, having lived centuries. The only disturbing thing about them was their craving for blood.

"Walk with me" he quietly said, barely audible to my ears due to the racket from the ball. They had switched to modern rock music now. I looked at my watch and saw that it was almost midnight. Wow! We had talked for nearly 4 hours. I looked back up and saw that he was quietly walking out of the ballroom. I quickly got up and followed him, not wanting to loose him out of my sight. I managed to catch up to him, but he didn't slow down his pace, quite the opposite – he started walking faster. I followed him as best as my heeled shoes would allow me and soon we reached the uppermost floor where there was only one door that was locked at all times. He just turned the door handle, opened the door and simply went into the room. I stared like a fish at him. I must have looked ridiculous, because when he turned around to see why I wasn't following him, he burst out laughing. I quickly closed my gaping mouth and followed him inside. The room was impossibly dark and I couldn't see a thing, not even my own hand. Suddenly, as if by magic, several candles lit in a circle around and above me and… Wait a second. Above me? They were floating in mid-air! I felt something move behind me and I turned around. It was only the Count and he was slowly walking towards me, completely oblivious to the floating candles.

He advanced carefully, as if not wanting to scare me or anything. But I didn't understand. Why would I be afraid of him? Before I knew it he was standing only a few centimeters from me and his strong arms gently wrapped around me. I could have just melted in his chest at that moment, but something was wrong. Suddenly, he leaned down to my right ear.

"I asked you those questions, so that I could be sure" he whispered, his voice music to my ears.

"Sure of what? What are you afraid of Vlad? Me? If so, then why?"

"You amaze me yet again. You are very observant and perceptive, Anna. You're also stunningly beautiful and very gentle. Not to mention your cute chipmunk mode. It would be really nice if I could hear one of those again. But, you were right. I am, or rather was, afraid of you. Of your reaction to my secret."

"What secret?" I eagerly asked. Yup, curiosity was definitely my weakness. Secrets are just secrets and they are mysterious and therefore they wake my curiosity…a lot.

"Have you ever heard of anagrams, Anna?" After I nodded he continued "Well, make the easiest anagram you can think of my name.

Anagrams? Have I ever heard of them before? Of course I have! They are one of my favorite things in the world. At least ever since "The Da Vinci Code" movie came out and I then read the book. Okay, back to work. An anagram of "Alucard"? The easiest one…would be to read it from right to left. Alright so, "Alucard" is…"Dracula". Oh, well look at that! Interesting, I didn't think that…Dracula? OMG! He IS Dracula! I looked up into his eyes and saw for the first time all the emotions in them – fear, hope, sadness, happiness.

"Are you the vampire Dracula, Vlad?" I asked. I saw fear and sadness shine in his eyes, but there was also a little ray of hope.

"Yes" he quietly answered, looking into my dark green eyes "Yes, I am. Are you afraid of me now? Are you scared? If you are, feel free to run away". At his answer I smiled and looked up at him. I actually managed to confuse him.

"Why would I run away? Why would I be afraid of you? You are my friend and, well, to be honest, I kinda…well…like you. A lot. Hehe…"

What happened next was unexpected. He pressed his lips into mine and it was a gentle, yet passionate kiss at the same time. I could feel all the relief, all the happiness that I wouldn't run away from him, in that single kiss.

And so my relationship with Dracula, the most feared vampire of all, the Prince of darkness, started and yet it was in his arms that I felt the safest.


End file.
